AED 500,000 Fine For Breaching Privacy Using Smartphone

Violators will also face a jail term of no less than six months.

Parents in UAE have expressed rising concerns regarding the safety of their children in an age of increasingly porous digital privacy.

Those who are caught filming children in public areas without the parents’ permission can face a fine of no less than AED 150,000 and up to AED 500,000. Violators will also face a jail term of no less than 6 months.

The law stipulates these penalties for actions, including “filming persons, taking photos, recording audio, recording phone calls, then distributing them or copying them or exposing them or keeping the content, even if it was true”.

Such acts can render persons liable under the Federal Law No. 5/2012 on combating information technology crimes.

This would be considered a breach of the children’s privacy, no matter how harmless the intent of the person may appear.

Fears arise from knowing that the child’s photo can be used online in a manner may breach the modesty of the child in explicit and pornographic content.